LGBT STUDY CLUB @lgbtstudyclub - Tumblr Blog

Important TED talks

Summer is time to relax but we should take the time to think. Here are my favorites ted talk videos that I think everyone should watch:

The virginity fraud - Nina Dølvik Brochmann and Ellen Støkken Dahl

This is what it’s like to go undercover in North Korea - Suki Kim

My escape from North Korea - Hyeonseo Lee

The Muslim on the airplane - Amal Kassir

The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong - Amy Morin

The skill of self confidence - Dr. Ivan Joseph

How to stop screwing yourself over - Mel Robbins

The Magic of Not Giving a F*** - Sarah Knight

Why the universe seems so strange - Richard Dawkins

The pattern behind self-deception - Michael Shermer

Militant atheism - Richard Dawkins

Why domestic violence victims don’t leave - Leslie Morgan Steiner

Lessons from death row inmates - David R. Dow

Lessons from the Mental Hospital - Glennon Doyle Melton

Why we choose suicide - Mark Henick

What’s Wrong with Dying? - Lesley Hazleton

I’m Taking My Body Back - Rupi Kaur

My philosophy for a happy life - Sam Berns

The surprising habits of original thinkers - Adam Grant

The surprising secret to speaking with confidence - Caroline Goyder

Want to sound like a leader? Start by saying your name right - Laura Sicola

Programming your mind for success - Carrie Green

All it takes is 10 mindful minutes - Andy Puddicombe

vocative

reading + drinking tea in this cheerful mug while I’m recovering from wisdom teeth surgery

PS: new February bujo vid is up! let me know what you think!

earlhamclassics

The Sportula

IMPORTANT SHIT, CLASSICISTS:

You should know about The Sportula, and they say it best themselves:

Q: What is the sportula?

A: We are a group of Classics Graduate Students and Junior Faculty committed to making sure that students from working-class and historically looted communities (like the ones we ourselves come from) don’t fall through the cracks left by traditional scholarship programs; all too many of which have a poor understanding of what our lives are *actually* like and what we *actually* need.

Q: What does that mean?

A: It means that, in our experience, a lot of programs/resources that might provide money for tuition or a specific course/project don’t take into account the further realities of our lives–that we often also needed $$$ for the work shifts we were missing by taking that class, or to bail our mom out of jail, or to buy the textbooks, or to pay our cellphone bill so we could have access to our online course materials from home, or subway fare, or just a freaking sandwich and fancy coffee so we could concentrate on a full belly/have a bit of sweetness in our survival as financially marginalized Classicists in training. None of those were theoretical examples, and this is why we want to smoothe the way for the next generation of Greek and Latin students like us!

Q: What does the sportula do?

A: We provide microgrants–petty cash ranging from $5 to $300, no questions asked, to Classics undergrads who need it. We can also work to find you larger amounts of money and/or connect you with mentorship for non-monetary needs (e.g. if you need a classicist from your racial/ethnic group to talk something over with, or if you have an issue impacting your academic career that you don’t feel comfortable letting your department know about, or you need access to a certain journal/manuscript etc). In short, we are the informal old boys club for ppl who never had access to the old boys club, and we wanna give you the cash you need to thrive.

Q: How do your microgrants work?

A: Contact us through our contact page, tell us what you need, and we will make every effort to send it to you through PayPal, venmo, mail, western union, etc (tell us how much you need, what mode of delivery you’d prefer, and when you need it by). You don’t have to explain yourself–we get that our lives can be complicated and strongly believe that we as financially marginalized people are the best arbiters of what we need and the experts on our own lives. We reject the all too common pattern in academia (and everywhere) that demands working class people “prove” their worthiness or expose/perform their need and trauma for some committee in order to get the money that we need and deserve. That being said, do also let us know if it’s for something like a book or an item we might be able to hook you up without having to spend money.

vocative

New video is up - check it out for a flip-through of my past four bullet journals! I can’t believe I’m already on my fifth!

gogh-save-the-bees

cwote

self love is not selfish

ricetwink-deactivated20190113

The Gay Men Project

“This project is simple. Basically I’m trying to photograph as many gay men as I can. My goal is to create a platform, a visibility on some level, and a resource for others who may not be as openly gay. A visual catalog of gay men and their stories. When I think of my own experience, and all the time I spent in the closet and hiding the fact that I was gay–to be at a place now where I feel completely comfortable being on the blog and telling the world “Hey, I’m a gay man,” I think there’s a power in that, for me and for a lot of the men on the blog. So it’s kind of a numbers game, I think the more men I photograph, the more impact the project has.

My dream is to take the project to as many different cities as I can across the world.” – Kevin Troung

officialfemme

things to update after a legal name change!

Social security card

Driver’s license

Passport

Birth certificate

Employer HR

Bank account

Credit card company

Car insurance

Health insurance

Utilities

Cell phone account

Voter registration

Your school

Professional organizations (for nursing, bar, teaching, etc.)

Doctor’s office & other health specialists

TV & internet

Paypal

*Please add to this list if you can think of anything else!!!

pinktwink

#1 thing I notice trans people forget to change after just a social name change is their voicemail recording!

allmymetaphors

leslieknope2k44

a guide to wlw period pieces (tv edition)

partialbirthabortion

We really have harmed a whole generation of trans and gnc children by failing to communicate how serious a decision binding actually is, how there’s no ACTUALLY safe way to bind, how it permeneantly damages the body, how it can make top surgery more difficult in the future. I don’t think we should be keeping trans kids from binding (we let kids do all sorts of things they’re really not old enough to understand the potential consequences of) but we owe them the ability to make informed decisions at LEAST

arty-ari

So this is definitely an important conversation to have, but can you point me at some reading about “permanent damage”? I might just be lucky, but I had zero lasting effects from binding. I’d like to at least read up on it so I can have this conversation and be more specific than “be careful.”

partialbirthabortion

Of course! I can’t easily source right now but I am more than happy to provide further info when I am not at work and on mobile. Unfortunately, like a lot of trans healthcare, a lot of what we know about binding is anecdotal and word of mouth. BUT permeneant damage can include:

-Musculoskeletal damage. Binders are indiscriminate compression tools; they can’t flatten the chest without applying pressure every other anatomical structure underneath including the spine, ribs, lungs and heart. Many people who bind experience chronic back pain, shoulder pain, sharp stabbing chest pains, permeneantly decreased lung capacity, literal spine deformation, etc etc.

-A continuation of the above but the ribs are actually jointed bones. Their ability to flex is absolutely vital to their ability to withstand trauma and protect your vital organs. Imagine the damage that would be done to your elbow if your bent your arm to full flexion and then tightly bound it closed like that, for six, eight, twelve hours per day, every day, for weeks or months or years. And you don’t NEED a functioning arm to live!

-Tissue atrophy. Forcing chest tissue to lay in an unnatural way can and will change the way that tissue looks, even to risk of atrophy. Some people who bind and only moderately dislike the way their chest looks find that they HATE the way it looks after binding for a period of time. Tissue atrophy can also make top surgery more difficult in the future, and increase the risk of complications like nerve damage.

-Worsened dysphoria. Once someone starts binding and becomes accustomed to seeing themselves with a flat chest, it can be much more difficult to see yourself without one, and dysphoria that much more intolerable. You can imagine the psychological feedback loop of binding more in response.

The typical safety measures passed around about binding are harm REDUCTION measures and should not be advertised as making binding “safe.” Binding is not safe. It is a very serious health decision with long term consequences and should be treated as such. That doesn’t mean it’s the wrong decision, but it should not be considered the DEFAULT decision for chest dysphoria which is frankly how it’s currently treated.

mikstapes

gonna drop some links to read more:

Health impact of chest binding among transgender adults: a community-engaged, cross-sectional study Inside the Landmark, Long Overdue Study on Chest Binding

Binding FAQ

Health Consequences of Chest Binding

fandompariah-deactivated2021120

@pooflyperfectprincess

clothing-references

Holy shit

wellgreathereiam

I went to the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference and went to a workshop held by a chiropractor who works with trans men (as well as being a trans man himself), so I’m going to pass on his advice to people who bind:

Stretch your chest, shoulders, and back everyday (at least)

This is a passive stretch where you place a foam roller at the bottom of your spine (to support your hips and lower back), and lifts your shoulders off of the ground, with your arms on the ground to balance you.

This stretch is meant to be held for a few minutes, open up your chest, and aid your everyday posture.

You probably don’t own a foam roller, he advised to wrap a towel or blanket very tightly and tied as a substitute. I use a layer of bed foam rolled up with two belts to keep it rolled. Whatever you use, it ought to have a bit of give and it needs to lift your shoulders off the ground.

—————————————————————————

This is an active stretch. Stand in front of a doorway with your feet together (if the door way was not there, your toes would be touching the wall, not crossing through it). When you lift your arms up and put them against the wall, your feet, hips, and arms should all be in line with each other (your arms should not be behind you with your feet and hips in the doorway).

Make a “W” shape with your arms against the wall so that your elbows are the closest part of your arm to the ground, and take one small step forward.

You should feel a pull in your lower shoulders, but it should be comfortable to hold. Do not over stretch, you shouldn’t be leaning your weight into your arms to balance, your weight should be balanced by your legs. Do not judge yourself and think you are doing yourself a favor by thinking that you ought to have a bigger step. Sure, you could overstretch today, but you need to be able to do this tomorrow too! Hold this for 10-15 seconds. (Yet again. Do. Not. Overstretch.)

Bring your feet back together, and do it the other foot. There will probably be one foot that is easier than the other, stretch that step more often than the less difficult step.

Bring your feet together and bring your elbows up so that your upper arms are parallel to the ground and your elbow forms a 90° angle with your forearms. Take your small step forward and hold for 10-15 seconds and switch feet.

Now reach your arms up as high as you can. It doesn’t have to be much higher than the last stretch, if that is as high as you can go, then that’s it. If you can’t reach higher than the last stretch, put your arms down at your sides and then lift your arms up from your sides and put them against the wall (sorry he didn’t include a picture of this one in the slides, message me if this is unclear.)

Your goal is to be able to reach your arms up like in the picture so that you form a Y shape. Step forward and hold for 10-15 seconds, then switch feet.

His advice was to do this stretch as often as you use the bathroom at home (shoot for 3-5 times a day).

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The next two stretchs don’t have pictures! If you can do these stretches with ease and want a more intense version, try using dumbbells and incorporating it into your workouts.

If you’ve ever done snow angels? Put your heels, butt, shoulders, and arms up against a wall (as much of your body as you possibly can should be touching the wall) and lift your arms up as high as you can go like you are making a snow angel.

Alternatively, lay down on the ground instead of up against a wall if you need to work your way up to lifting your arms above your head.

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Again, with your body up against the wall, but this time with your arms in front of you, bring your arms up like Frankenstein’s monster, so that they are as high as your shoulders. Hold this for a few seconds.

—————————————————————————

After trying these stretchs, it’ll probably be clear where your range of motion is most limited. For me, the most useful stretches are the W and 90° angle doorway stretch and foam roller stretch, bc I have the most trouble with my lower shoulders and chest. Try to maintain your range of motion where you have it, and use these stretches to improve your range of motion where you are limited.

cerulean-beekeeper-deactivated2

For all my binding buddies.

iconicpopstar

“His husband”

“Her wife”

pastel-petticoats

It’s vital that young trans people understand that they can have a future

leichii

not can, do and will. it shouldn’t be a “maybe”, because it’s not. It’s a definite thing - young trans people **have** a future, and we need to guide and lead them into it with open hearts and open minds

paintdeath

Gay rights activists kiss as they are detained by police officers during a gay rights protest in St. Petersburg

asterosian

Burger King will give you a whopper for one cent if you go within 600 feet of a McDonald’s and order one from their app

First of all, power move

Second, this means any poor person with a phone and the new Burger King app can literally get food for a penny just by going to McDonalds, which is probably a goddamn lifesaver if you’re regularly worried about where your next meal is coming from

This lasts until December 12, 2018

So, yeah. Save some cash and stay fed.

soundofez

concept: black magic which heals and protects

a doctor parts skin with a careful touch, turns a tumor into shadow, and seals his patient once more with black threads.

a teenager buys black pills from the pharmacy, swallows one, lies back. they find themselves shrouded in darkness, and for the first time in a long time they sleep well. in the morning they wake under their covers, safe and warm.

a parent casts a shadow over their child, whose body overheats quickly. with the shadow protecting them, the child can walk safely under the sun, fearing neither sunburn nor heat stroke.

light moves swiftly, but darkness is everywhere, and all connected. white magic transportation moves its passengers at dangerous speeds; it’s black magic which harnesses the everywhereness of the dark and turns it into the safest and most efficient transportation known to life.

( x )